Heather Johnson, centre, with Nash Ali and Nadia Shah – who all lost their seats on the council at this week’s elections

SHE has been one of the best known figures at the Town Hall: 32 years as a councillor, twice the Mayor of Camden and, perhaps most famously, the boss of Camden’s planning committee.

But Heather Johnson was one of the high-profile casualties of Labour losses at the council elections after the Greens won all three seats in the Regent’s Park ward, normally considered safe territory for the ruling party.

She has been the chair of the planning committee since 2013, making her the figurehead of a process in which controversial developments regularly come across the desks of councillors.

“As chair of planning, everyone hates you — of course, people might not agree with the committee’s decisions but I think, on the whole, we have got things right,” she said.

“People often do not appreciate that we work within the quite tight legislation that is planning law. It is how we can use that legislation to get the best for the borough.”

She added that the loss of Regent’s Park ward was due to a combination of factors.

“I think it is hard to call any seat a safe seat anymore,” she said, after a result in which cabinet member Nadia Shah and former council leader Nash Ali were also defeated.

“There were lots of different things that played into the result we had. People’s views are changing and I feel they may be more nuanced than they ever have been. We cannot say we did not suffer from the unpopularity that comes with being an incumbent — that is always very difficult.

“The fact is when you are in power, you have to tell the truth. You cannot fly kites or fill leaflets with promises you have no intention of keeping, and you know you will be held to account.

“We have kept our promises. We have done what we said we would do. And everything we have done has been for the betterment of the people of Regent’s Park.”

Ms Johnson said: “I will miss working with council officers, the camaraderie of the Labour group, I will miss being able to do things that make the lives of people in Camden better. I will miss being at the heart of decision making and seeing it in the round and how it impacts across the borough.”

The story in Regent’s Park is not over, as one of the winning Green candidates, Muhammad Abu Naser, cannot be inducted due to his employment as a teacher in a local secondary school. A by-election is now expected to take place almost immediately, although whether one of the Labour councillors who lost their seats will try again remains to be seen.

She said if she was asked to stand again she would happily step forward – but had some rest and recuperation now in mind after a bruising election battle.

“What I want to do next is firstly have a nice long sleep – and then go on a cruise,” she said.